"Thousand of servers, thousand of employees that could be bribed"

A great point but I would argue that there might be enough "n" at a company with only, say, 500 employees.

On a different note, I'm not sure the best angle of attack is to bribe anyone. After all someone bribed is also someone who can disclose info. Or could even get hacked themselves whereby someone else would discover that they are cooperating and release or expose that fact. For many reasons. Could be a roommate, an angry spouse or girlfriend etc. And after all a bribe is also money so there is a money trail if large enough and/or not paid in cash. And some people just like to talk and brag.

Secrecy wise, the less people that they were to involve the less chance of a leak. At least one reason that top secret programs have limited people that even know they are going on, right?

> After all someone bribed is also someone who can disclose info. Or could even get hacked themselves whereby someone else would discover that they are cooperating and release or expose that fact. For many reasons. Could be a roommate, an angry spouse or girlfriend etc. And after all a bribe is also money so there is a money trail if large enough and/or not paid in cash. And some people just like to talk and brag.

The NSA/FBI/DEA can and have used tactics like extortion (e.g. for planted drugs, money laundering charges etc.) to make people cooperate. It's like a bribe just without the risk of exposing.

> The NSA/FBI/DEA can and have used tactics like extortion

Would you cite sources for that?

Add a CIA to this and look at all the black ops they have either admitted or been exposed.

If any of the three-letter agencies (or, for that matter, any big govt agency) uses these kinds of tactic, then there is no reason at all to believe other branches of govt refrain from doing the same shit.

Once, a long time ago, that last sentence would make me a tinfoil-hat-wearer... sad that this is not the case anymore.

I know what you mean, hence the request.

Is blackmail good enough? http://www.lettersofnote.com/2012/01/king-like-all-frauds-yo...

They don't have to "bribe" anyone.

They can easily plant their own agents inside the company as employees.

("undercover agent" getting a job at the company like a regular person)

I'd be very very surprised if they already haven't done it.

The key to bribery (well, heck the key to keeping members of any "evil" organization's mouths shut), is to find something they are really really embarrassed about, some sexual fetish, something secret about their family. Or, promise to absolutely put them in prison over some crime they committed. For the later, ever better entrap them to commit the crime first and record it. All that coupled with a reward -- if they need money, offer money (maybe in the form of a consulting business in a NSA front company with this purpose in mind).

No, the key to bribery is that once someone accepts money, you have two hooks in them:

1., They are willing to sell you intel for money.

2., You can now blackmail them as they accepted a bribe.

Point 2 is the reason you should never accept bribes when doing business, especially abroad and everyone tells you "it's normal". they're just waiting for a foreigner to get exposed, take your passport and have fun with you. see Russia, etc.

No need to be Macchiavelli.

That's not how bribery works.

> is to find something they are really really embarrassed about

I don't think NSA needs to employ high school level tactics.

If they want to pin something, they will. True or not.

Oh boy. Oh yes it is. You don't bribe someone for information unless you have dirt on them, otherwise there's nothing to stop them turning traitor on you. If you don't have dirt on them, you just invent some. Doesn't matter. People don't fact-check - if the media says it, it must be true.

> You don't bribe someone for information unless you have dirt on them

That's not a bribe.

Learn the difference between strong-arm tactics such as blackmail and bribes. Two completely different approaches.

The two almost always go hand in hand, unless you're talking about bribing a traffic cop - which we're not.

Patronising dickhead.

Touched a nerve kiddo?

Link me to a case where NSA/CIA/FBI blackmailed AND worked with / gave money to an individual at the same time.

Still a patronising dickhead?

The CIA typically recruit through a combination of carrot and stick - i.e. bribery and blackmail.

"Hey dude, let me tell you about this sweet slightly dodgy thing I can get you in on."

... ...

"Oh by the way, I hope you like all that money you made. I work for the CIA. Work with us or go to jail, your call."

More commonly than not it's not about self-preservation, rather protection of loved ones - read up on Operation Mockingbird, which was driven pretty much entirely on this basis - luring journalists in with a subtle bribe hook, then using it to blackmail them.

> read up on Operation Mockingbird

Did you read anything I posted? In what instance was somebody bribed AND blackmailed at the same time during the Mockingbird?

Please go back to Wikipedia and try again.

Not sure why I'm even engaging with you. Go back to your military contracting job and keep your head down.

that was CIA time and they since learned that plain money works best even with the most zealot radical

Could not agree you more.